Politics of the Narik Wars
The Narik Wars were shaped heavily by political beliefs unique to Darnussia and Narikaton. The political beliefs involved in driving the bloodiest conflict in human history go far beyond the left-right spectrum and basic monarchism and republicanism. They are the result of ethnic, political and national identity, and are a highly complex set of beliefs intertwined with each other. At its core, the Narik Wars was the conflict of whether the country now known as the Imperial Commonwealth should be considered to be Darnussian or Narikatonite. The Narik Wars contained central beliefs: Narikatonite nationalism and Darnussian unionism. Narikatonite nationalism is based on the belief that Narikaton should be an independent state, while Darnussian unionism asserts that all five provinces of Darnussia should be a united nation. Understanding the role monarchy played is also vital in understanding the complexities of the Narik Wars. Darnussian or Narikatonite? As stated above, the entire Darnussia-Narikaton conflict centres around whether the five traditional provinces of Alkavon, Clenon, Kozaria, Narikaton and Nihaton are Darnussian or Narikatonite. Both are ethnic and cultural identities that have been shaped throughout history. Darnussia is the collective name traditionally given to these five provinces. Darnussia first came about as the Kingdom of Darnussia, the empire founded by King Darntus I of United Narikaton. When used in context of the Narik Wars however, it generally refers to the Darnus-speaking Kozari people of the two mainland provinces of Alkavon and Kozaria. Narikaton is traditionally one of the five provinces, but since the 2400's it has also come to refer to the Narik-speaking Nariki people of the islands of Narikaton and Shirmania, covering the provinces of Clenon, Narikaton and Nihaton. The concept of Narikatonite being a separate indentity and nationality to Darnussian only arose in the 2400's with the rise of Narikatonite nationalism. Narikatonite nationalism :Main article: Narikatonite nationalism Narikatonite nationalism is a political ideology and movement that generally aims to see an independent Narikatonite state. This has taken many forms over the ages, from the simple campaigning for the Narik language to have equal status to Darnus, to the all out racial superiority of the Nariki people and persecution of the Kozaris. A relatively young ideology, modern Narikatonite nationalism originated around the 24th century by writers such as Daniel W. Alois and Wilhelm Crule, who preached for ethnic Nariki people to rise up and protect their culture and language from outside influences, namely other Darnussians. Narikatonite nationalism generally is a monarchist ideology, and believe that any Narikatonite state must be a monarchy. This is called Narikatonite imperialism, although there has been a minority of Narikatonite nationalist republicans throughout history, although they have remained just that: a minority. These beliefs began to take hold throughout the 24th and 25th centuries, until by 2550, Narikatonite imperialists held majorities in the Darnussian parliament. This eventually resulted in the outbreak of the Second Darnussian Civil War following the first Narik independence, that led to at that time unrivalled levels of bloodshed. Attempts to stem Narikatonite nationalism, such as the United Republic, failed, and only helped bring about the Second Empire of Narikaton. This was where the ultra-nationalist policies were implemented, before it collapsed due to internal strife. In later Darnussian governments, Narikatonite nationalism was strictly illegalised. The spark that was believed to have started the chain reaction to the Narik Wars was the 3069 Narik Uprising, led by radical Narikatonite imperialist Cecil van Raux. Van Raux was put on trial and executed. The treatment of the rebels caused an outcry throughout Narikaton, and led to resentment by more right-wing Narikatonite towards the Darnussian government. More influential however, was the re-kindlement of Narikatonite pride and nationalism. Soon, works by Alois and Crule were the best selling books in Darnussia despite being illegal, as well as van Raux's own work Golden Empire. Very soon, the far-right began to see a major growth from the fallout of the uprising, and some groups decided to begin to exploit the feelings of nationalism, as well as anger at the way the rebels had been treated. In January 3070, the far-right Darnussian Liberation Army won the national elections, and by May had introduced a bill to re-legalise 'moderate Narikatonite nationalism'. Immense public pressure resulted in the bills passing, and in September 3070, the DLA reformed as the Narikatonite Royalist Army (NRA). Rauxism :Main article: Rauxism Rauxism is key to understanding the causes of the First Narik War in particular. Rauxism is a specific branch of Narikatonite imperialism that states the only legitimate monarch of Narikaton is the head of the House of Darntus-Raux, an ancient Narikatonite noble family who founded and held the throne of the Kingdom of Darnussia until 1966, as well as the throne of the First and Second Narikatonite Empires. A key concept to Rauxism is the belief that the House of Darntus-Raux is the rightful monarch of all-Darnussia, including the mainland of Alkavon and Kozaria. The origins of Rauxism are obscure, but are generally believed to have come into the mainstream after van Raux's uprising in 3069. As Narikatonite imperialist movements began to take hold, Rauxist rhetoric became more and more prevalent and by the 3100's, Rauxists were the majority of members of the Imperial Narikaton Movement. They were adamant that any imperial Narikatonite state must include the rest of Darnussia to give the Dartus-Raux's their entire rightful kingdom and empire. Thus, when Narikatonite independence was declared in 3125, they immediately also claimed the mainland provinces of Alkavon and Kozaria and sent their armies to occupy it. Obviously this did not meet well with the people of the mainland, who put up a furious resistance to the Imperial forces, resulting in the First Narik War. Rauxism fell into a steep decline in the 3070's and 80's when it became clear that the Imperial Army were suffering terribly during the Second Narik War. Moderate nationalism quickly took hold of Narikaton, and the remaining Rauxists were ousted from power. Thus, by 3193, the Narikatonites pulled out of Alkavon and Kozaria, resulting in an independent Darnussian Republic on the mainland. Indeed it is an irony that when the Imperial throne finally legitimately gained sovereignty over all five provinces, it was within the joint government of the Imperial Commonwealth, resulting in the end of an independent Narikaton. Non-Rauxist nationalism Between independence in 3125 and approximately 3190, non-Rauxist Narikatonite nationalists were in the minority of Narikatonite politics. Rauxists dominated Narikaton, and so a permanent war was being fought on the mainland to try and secure it for the empire. Non-Rauxists felt that Rauxism was actually in contradiction to true Narikatonite nationalism, as it resulted in Kozaria and Alkavon being part of the country, even if that country was unified under the banner of Narikaton. Non-Rauxist nationalists felt that the Narikatonite Empire should be completely separate from the rest of Darnussia, not incorporate it. Rauxism declined due to the huge losses the Imperial Army were suffering in attempting to secure the mainland for the Empire in the Second Narik War. By late 3192, moderate nationalists had taken the Imperial parliament and were backed by huge popular support due to their anti-war stance. In 3193, the Imperial Army withdrew from the mainland, resulting in a de-facto independent Darnussian state in Alkavon and Kozaria. In a compromise with the Rauxists to prevent civil war from breaking out in Narikaton, the new Imperial government continued to claim the mainland for Narikaton, although did not actively pursue their claim. Thus, Narikatonite defeat in the Second Narik War was a political one, as the Imperial Army had not been defeated on the field, but simply withdrawn due to the fall of Rauxism. Non-Rauxist nationalism continued in Narikaton throughout the Tensions and beyond, past the Second Migrant Treaty and into the days of peace and co-operation between the Narikatonite Empire and the Darnussian Republic. Nariktonite nationalism became so moderate by the time of the union of the Republic and the Empire in 3321, that nationalist parties were the driving force behind the creation of the Imperial Commonwealth. Darnussian politics Darnussian politics during the Narik Wars were driven simply by anti-Narikatonite nationalism at its core. When the Narikatonite Empire attempted to annex Alkavon and Kozaria, the populace resisted fiercely. All the anti-Imperial forces united under the Darnussian flag, but attempting to keep Darnussian independence was the only factor that united the Darnussians. The Darnussians were much more fragmented than their Narikatonite enemies, consisting of a range of communist, anarchist, right-wing nationalists and moderate groups, although for much of the war they were led by the communist People's Revolutionary Army. Darnussian policy was simple: resist the Narikatonite Empire. The Darnussian Alliance had no ideology; it simply fought to defend Darnussia against the imperialist invaders. Indeed, it seems the only ideology that the Darnussians consistently supported was republicanism and their firm belief in a united Darnussian republic. Darnussian unionism Darnussian unionism is the belief that all of Darnussia and Narikaton should be a single country united under a Darnussian republic. It is a reactionary ideology, in contrast to Narikatonite nationalism. Indeed, it only arose as a concept when Narikatonite nationalism was created, as throughout it's history since its founding by King Darntus I Darnussia has been united under the Darnussian flag. During the First and Second Narik Wars, unionism was less important than the goal of simply fighting off the Narikatonite invaders on the mainland and maintaining a Darnussian state of some kind. However, when the Darnussian Republic came into being, unionism suddenly took centre stage, as politicians believed the area of the Narikatonite Empire should be part of a united Darnussian republic. For the left-wing Unionist Party, unionism was their flagship policy, and it was aggressively perused during their time in government of the early years of the Republic. Operation Darntus was the ultimate display of Darnussian unionism, the planned full-scale Darnussian invasion of the Narikatonite Empire that ultimately did not go ahead. Again, it is ironic that when Darnussia and Narikaton were finally united in 3321 after 200 years apart it was under the banner of the Imperial Commonwealth, and perhaps sickeningly for republicans, the Narikatonite crown. Monarchism and republicanism Category:Political ideologies